Keep Our Assets – inspired by Invercargill

On Saturday, we took a break from the South Island Green Policy Conference and hit the streets of Invercargill to collect signatures for the “Keep Our Assets” petition final push.

About half the Green MPs and a team of local and regional volunteers collected more than 500 signatures in a single hour.

Downtown Invercargill may not be as heavily populated as downtown Auckland, or Wellington, but I have never met such a supportive and friendly group of random strangers.

Collecting at Waitangi on Waitangi Day was also fantastically successful, but then it is a political event and people expect both petitions and debate.

People were instantly responsive to the words “asset sales” and they were wishing us luck even though some who signed felt the Prime Minister was incapable of listening.

My best conversations were with the elderly who had strong memories of the failure of asset sales to benefit this country in the past, and the young who were like “this is just a stupid idea”. I had some lovely chats with young people outside a tattoo parlour, and Māori elders outside the chemist who were very concerned about water rights but also about the impact on the whole country. Whole families were getting $10.00 haircuts and parents were very much against asset sales. There is a slow friendly vibration under the open skies of the deep South, but make no mistake about it: they are keen to be asset keepers. Back at the Policy Conference we compared notes and everyone had been well received and welcomed on this kaupapa.

Back to the referendum, you say:
“running a referendum about which you already know the answer”

Surely it’s not a matter of already knowing the answer (which in this case is that the vast majority of New Zealanders do NOT want their assets sold), it’s a case of giving people a direct opportunity to declare their position; an accurate, up-to-date statement on what they think NOW about a certaiin issue. In this case, the theft sale of their energy assets.This aspect of the referendum; hearing what New Zealanders NOW believe and want, strikes fear into the Governments black heart, and it seems, your grey one.

You made a personal admission of dishonesty here, Arana.
I’m sure you criticised those who ‘jammed’ the billboards at the time, yet here you are, behaving in a similar fashion. Dishonesty is so uncool, here at Frogblog.

Sure is, but then running a referendum about which you already know the answer, and on a matter which the electorate has already voted, is childish and it costs taxpayers money.

As a citizen, I feel I should send a message to those in the house of representatives. I don’t like politicians wasting taxpayers money or being childish by trying to be clever with the rules around citizen referendum. Two can play at that game.

There’s little need to attend rallies now. Everyone knows they can tell the Government exactly what they think, through the referendum.
And what they will tell them, is NO.
This: “over the last 3-4 days we have collected over 1000 signatures in Invercargill” is where the action is.